Stocks reverse course as investors take profits

Small businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19 pandemic

Census data shows the impacts of the pandemic on U.S. small businesses.

NEW YORK - U.S. equity markets closed lower across the board giving up earlier gains as investors took profits and reassessed the progress of a potential coronavirus treatment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 390 points or 1.59 percent while both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite reversed gains ending the session lower by 1.05 percent and 0.54 percent respectively.

The major averages all gained at least 2.4 percent on Monday, in part due to Moderna, which released positive Phase 1 trial results for an experimental COVID-19 vaccine.

In Washington, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified in front of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Tuesday over steps taken to support the economy amid the pandemic, which forced lockdowns across much of the U.S.

Proposed rules include a mandate that companies from some countries, including China, raise at least $25 million in the IPO and requiring auditing firms to make sure international franchises meet global standards.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for June delivery rose 2.14 percent to $32.50 a barrel ahead of Tuesday’s expiration, and gold rose fractionally to $1,744.20 an ounce.

U.S. Treasurys ticked higher, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down to 0.711 percent.